CROSS COUNTY, Ark. (KAIT) – St. Bernards Healthcare held a ribbon cutting Tuesday for its newest women’s health clinic at Crossridge Community Hospital, expanding maternal care access to Cross County and surrounding rural areas.
The clinic addresses a critical need in Arkansas, where more than 60% of counties have limited maternal care and nearly half have no maternal care at all. According to the University of Arkansas Medical Sciences, Arkansas has the highest maternal mortality rate in the nation.
“Our mission to provide Christ-like healing to the community could not be more evident in any service that we offer than this one right here,” said Dana Lands, nursing director for children’s and women’s services at St. Bernards during the ribbon cutting.
St. Bernards identified the maternal care crisis nearly 10 years ago.
“At that time, we were seeing about 13% of all of St. Bernards deliveries had no prenatal care or very limited prenatal care,” Lands said.
Since 2016, the hospital has opened clinics in Jonesboro, Osceola, Paragould, and Walnut Ridge. The strategy is showing results; deliveries with no prenatal care at St. Bernards have dropped to less than 1%.
The Wynne location will serve patients from Cross County and surrounding counties, including St. Francis, Crittenden, Woodruff, and Poinsett, reducing travel time for rural patients.
“A lot of this area is rural, so the patients are coming into the Wynne area for their healthcare, but this saves them an hour drive into Jonesboro, which we know a lot of our patients cannot make,” Lands said.
The clinic’s nurse practitioner can see about 20 patients per day, according to Lands.
“Anyone that can make their way into Wynne, if it’s closer for you to get here than it is one of our other locations or our outlying clinics, then we want to see you here,” Lands said.
The clinic will provide comprehensive women’s health services in addition to prenatal care. Lands said the focus extends to postpartum care, an often-overlooked aspect of maternal health.
“It seems like moms are forgotten about. Once they deliver, everything is focused on the baby. So, what can we do to keep her healthy prior to her next pregnancy,” Lands said.
St. Bernards plans to continue expanding maternal care services, with Poinsett County identified as the next potential location for a women’s health clinic.
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